The Capitol Games
by The Reptile Rulers
Summary: Welcome one and welcome all to the 76th and final Hunger Games! Lacey is picked as one of the 24 capitol tributes along with her elder brother, Thomas, and Celestia Snow whom she quickly befriends. But how will she escape the arena alive without killing those she cares about? How will she even survive five minutes?
1. Prologue

It's strange how we spend so long taking the districts and their hard labour for granted and then suddenly they are in charge. Everyone blames Katniss Everdeen however I think it was more than just her alone. No-one could start a war single-handed.

Now it's our turn, the poor ignorant fools that lived in the capitol, to try our hand at the hunger games. I never liked watching the games, I saw that they were a gruesome, horrid form of entertainment that no-one should enjoy. Least of all the districts that had to give up a child, a precious life that some-one cherished once, and send them to die or become a murderer. Now we will have a reaping, we will have a hunger games and we will die. The districts will watch and laugh as we taste our own medicine and the citizens of the capitol will weep as their children die.

They are reaping the tributes from different areas of the capitol. They have split it into six sections and will elect two girls and two boys from each one of these areas. I hope I am not one of the unlucky tributes, I know that although many capitol children are obese and unfit but some are strong and healthy as they enjoy replicating scenes from the hunger games. I am neither, I scarcely ate anyway but since the rebellion I have eaten even less and have not moved from my room. I will have to move today otherwise they'll kill me for not attending the reaping.

At thirteen years old I have my name in only twice however the odds, as we have all recently found out, are never in your favour.


	2. The reaping

The reaping is a grim affair, the kids waiting to hear whether they have been chosen to die or not and their parents watching and hoping the same for their children. We are forced, as the districts were, to dress up. Many were in outfits that replicated costumed past victors wore and others excessively glittery costumes. My parents had decided to dress me in a green dress which supposedly matched my reed hair and green eyes however the frills and sparkles made me look stupid, much like almost everyone else gathered here.

A woman, Effie Trinket, stepped onto the stage in front of everyone. She had been the host for the district 12 reaping.

"Hello and welcome." She smiled, her high pitched voice annoyed me as it seemed almost forced. She wore a daft pink dress and a huge golden wig. "To the final Hunger Games!" She added emphasis on the sentence as if it was a joyous occasion. Perhaps it was, the end of the games would be a occasion worth celebrating however when you still had to participate in one more it didn't seem quite right to cheer. "Well first we have a short film from the districts." She indicated to a screen which played short parts of several propaganda videos from the rebellion, Katniss Everdeen appearing on the screen several times before Plutarch Havensbee appeared on the screen. He was the new leader after Snow had been executed.

"This is what it took to stop our torture however we do not intend to force you to do the same. We simply want to show you how we felt for a few weeks every year for 75 long years. We will not force you to do the back breaking labour simply to receive a few meagre pieces of food like the districts. We are being merciful so enjoy the final hunger games." He said smiling grimly before the screen went blank. Effie laughed nervously.

"Well now that that is cleared up, let us proceed onto the reaping. As always, ladies first." She strutted to the glass bowl which held the slips of paper, each with a name on it. She plucked one out. "First of all, Celestia Snow!" This was obviously going to happen, Snow's granddaughter was the most important capitol child and it also formed another style of revenge aimed at Snow despite already being dead. She walked slowly up the steps, tears streaming down her face. She had obviously been protected by Snow her whole life until now. Her plain white dress and brown hair billowed around her in the wind that suddenly picked up. I felt a twinge of guilt, it wasn't her choice to have Snow as a family member. After she had reached her designated place Effie pulled another name out. "And secondly, Lacey Fray!" My heart stopped as I waited for someone to repeat it. That was my name. At least I thought it was, maybe I had misheard it. No, I could feel the eyes burning into me as they waited for me to move next to Celestia. I walked slowly forward and into my place. "Now for the boys!" She strutted to the other side and picked out two more names however I didn't hear and I didn't care. I looked at them after a minute and saw they were both much older, one was my brother. I gasped as he started back at me, eyes full of remorse. He had never watched the Hunger Games and had always agreed with me on everything. How could I fight him?

"Well now shake hands." We all shook each others hands on Effie's order then were escorted back into a building that was acting as the Justice Building on this occasion and into separate rooms. We would all be taken on a train ride for two days, each set of four separately, just to replicate what the past tributes felt. I waited in the room for visitors but none came. Of course not, my brother was the only one that would have come but he couldn't. My mother always preferred him as her idea of a girl was all pink and glitter. After a short while I was escorted to the train.


	3. The train

The train was as I would have expected from the capitol. Excessive luxury and nothing else. We went into the dining cart and a table covered in sweets and drinks stood next to the door. At one of the tables with six chairs sat Haymitch Abernathy and Katniss Everdeen. Effie stood next to them and they all seemed deep in conversation.

"Oh hello." Effie said to the four of us.

"Hello." Said Thomas, my brother. The other boy gave a curt nod however me and Celestia remained silent.

"Well, take a seat you four." Effie said and we did as we were told. Haymitch and Katniss were opposite each other so it ended up with boys on one side and girls on the other.

"I'm sure you're aware of how the hunger games works." Haymitch said in a patronising tone. Katniss just glared at the wall.

"Yes, we are." The other boy said in a deep voice.

"Well then, we are your mentors. Peeta didn't want to do this so I'm taking his place, Katniss didn't have a choice." He continued. "It was decided two mentors would be given to each area however we decided to only split it into six areas for practicality. Now do any of you have a chance at winning or should I get drunk now?"

"You're drunk anyway." Katniss spoke up finally, still glaring at the wall just a little more in the direction of Haymitch.

"Not as drunk as usual sweetheart." Haymitch replied.

"Either way, at least three of us are going to die anyway, you might as well start being drunk." Thomas said, I felt tears welling up in my eyes but I blinked them back.

"Very harsh considering you're in that arena with your little sister." Haymitch said to him as he stood up to get some alcohol.

"Maybe but if Katniss managed to get out of the arena with Peeta-" He started but Katniss cut him off.

"You don't think Snow punished us for that? He threatened to kill our families. Besides, you won't manage it." She said still looking at the wall.

"How do we win?" I asked quietly, taking it away from the fact that if I was to live Thomas would be dead.

"Well, first off you need sponsors. Do you know how to get them?" Haymitch asked.

"You get people to like you." The other boy said.

"Presumably it's still capitol citizens that sponsor us." Thomas said, Haymitch nodded.

"Then just act like a puppy doing tricks for a treat." I said, still almost whispering.

"Interesting but that won't get you sponsors." Haymitch turned to Katniss. "Will it sweetheart?"

"Worked fine for me." Katniss said, finally looking at him. "I think she has the right idea."

"Well, how about a slightly more... appealing attitude." Haymitch smiled sarcastically. He turned back to the four of us, looking at each of us carefully as if he was trying to figure out if any of us could win.

"Why fight against the games just to host another?" Thomas asked.

"You and your sister appear to have very similar ideas. Do either of you want to leave alive?" Haymitch asked, we didn't answer. "Because if you do you need to sell yourselves better than that."

"Why? If you want to replicate the real games almost every aspect is planned." I said. "Like when you decided Celestia would be picked, they'd have done that in the real games."

"Well despite probably being the only kid in the whole capitol that doesn't want to be, you are the miniature Katniss." Haymitch laughed.

"Maybe you should stop drinking so much." Katniss said, if looks could kill then Haymitch would have been dead five minutes since.

"So what should we do to get sponsors?" Celestia asked, not speaking until now.

"Play on your strong points. Two seventeen year olds, a thirteen year old and a twelve year old should be easy to work with. Just act like a family, should be especially easy for you two." Haymitch pointed at me and Thomas. joined Katniss in glaring at him.

"So now we've established several times that me and Lacey are related can we please move on?" Thomas was getting really annoyed now.

"And yet you would have found someone else in your situation excellent entertainment." Katniss was now glaring at Thomas instead.

"No I wouldn't!" He shouted, standing up. "Me and Lacey have never watched the games, we hate them and always have. They're hardly a form of entertainment."

"Now calm down, such bad manners." Effie chastised him, Thomas ignored her and carried on glowering at Katniss who returned it, clearly experienced with this sort of affair.

"Thomas, it doesn't matter." I said after a deep breath. "Everyone stereotypes everyone else." Thomas huffed and stormed out of the room to where he had been told his bedroom was upon arriving.

"Well that was rude." Effie stated.

"Perhaps you could also point out to Katniss here it's rude to stare while you're at it, along with a number of other rude things she's done since us arriving." I said, finally finding my voice however I didn't dare shout like Thomas had. I turned to Haymitch, determined to salvage something from the conversation. "Back to sponsors, even if you don't have a good personality, can you get them just from putting on a good show?"

"That is the game-makers job... but... I suppose if you put on your own separate show people would like you for it. The game-makers this time are from the districts but rather grim people so for a good score from them you'll need to show them a violent side no-matter what you do in front of everyone else." He answered, talking slowly to make sure he said it correctly.

"And if I made fun of the capitol?" Haymitch laughed at my question.

"Well, the sponsors wouldn't thank you for it but it might get you the game-makers' favour." He answered.

"So if I mixed the two together and made a show plus made fun of the capitol that would get me sponsors and the game-makers would like me?" I asked and Haymitch smiled again. He turned to Katniss who had took to glaring at the wall again. "See sweetheart, you can do both at once."


End file.
